With over 30 years’ experience researching, reviewing, and selecting Top Doctors, Castle Connolly is a trusted and credible healthcare research and information company. Our mission is to help people find the best healthcare by connecting patients with best-in-class healthcare providers.
Castle Connolly’s physician-led team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels. Its online nomination process is open to all licensed physicians in America who are able to nominate physicians in any medical specialty and in any part of the country, as well as indicate whether the nominated physician(s) is, in their opinion, among the best in their region in their medical specialty or among the best in the nation in their medical specialty. Then, Castle Connolly’s research team thoroughly vets each physician’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, and, if available, outcomes data. Additionally, a physician’s interpersonal skills such as listening and communicating effectively, demonstrating empathy, and instilling trust and confidence, are also considered in the review process. The Castle Connolly Doctor Directory is the largest network of peer-nominated physicians in the nation.
Through the nomination process, Castle Connolly also identifies female physicians for their annual Exceptional Women in Medicine award. This award was created by Castle Connolly in order to recognize female physicians who are often underrepresented among award recipients in the medical community. Physicians selected to be recognized for this honor are a subset of the female Top Doctors on their website who are the best in their specialties, in their communities, and throughout the nation, delivering exceptional patient care. This award not only recognizes physicians who have greatly contributed to healthcare through clinical care, research, community service, education, and leadership, but they have also improved healthcare outcomes for issues specific to women. Physicians do not pay and cannot pay to be selected and profiled for Exceptional Women in Medicine award.
Dr. Victoria L. Lim
Growing up, medicine was a way of life for many in Victoria Lim’s family. “Initially, I fought a little bit against it because everybody expected me to go into medicine,” she says today. “What else are you going to do?” they would ask young Victoria. “Be a Solid Gold dancer?” she would reply. To which the answer was inevitably, “Well, realistically, what are you going to do?” Nowadays, she’s embraced her career wholeheartedly. “I love it,” she says. “You really don’t feel like you’re working if you really love what you do, and that’s how I feel about my practice.”
She could have easily followed the more cloistered medical career track: research. In 1989, just after receiving her bachelor’s degree, she co-authored the paper “Designing Therapies for the Treatment of AIDS” in the Journal of Biotechnology. Later, pursuing her medical degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, she received a Resident Research Award for her research in the prevention of oral cancer. Yet she found working with patients to be more gratifying.
Like her uncle before her, Dr. Lim is an otolaryngologist, or ear, nose, and throat (ENT) physician, based primarily at the Shea Clinic, while also volunteering extensively at Church Health. And focusing on ENT issues, she says, covers an incredibly wide swath of medical conditions. “There’s so much diversity in it,” she says. “We treat sinuses, we treat ear disease, we treat swallowing disorders, we treat head and neck cancer, we treat allergies. It is very diverse and interesting, and it’s really fascinating anatomy.”
That diversity also applies to the Shea Clinic, she notes. They’re not just about ears. “We have been known for treating ear disease, but we’ve expanded what we treat, so it’s not just mainly ears. Any head or neck disease we pretty much treat, and we also do facial plastics. Now we have our own operating room with pretty much state-of-the-art equipment.”
And yet, Lim suggests, there’s a special place in her heart for her work with Church Health. “I can do procedures there that typically cost patients hundreds of dollars, but on a sliding scale. And we have an agreement with some of the local hospitals and clinics who donate their services, including the MRIs, and you know how expensive an MRI is. Church Health does such important work. It’s really there to help people, and they don’t discriminate based on religion. We have a lot of patients who are immigrants, and we don’t judge, we just try to help them. And because it’s all based on donations, no one can tell us what to do. You’re not having Big Brother watching over you. You can actually practice medicine the way you want.”
— Alex Greene
Dr. Jennifer S. Morrow
“Physicians are people, too.”
That’s how Dr. Jennifer Morrow sees it. She’s a cardiologist with Stern Cardiovascular Foundation. But when she’s with patients, she’s also a human being.
“Practicing medicine has taught me so much more about human nature than I could have ever imagined,” Morrow says. “We are often called in when patients are quite sick, and being able to care for people and provide reassurance is incredibly rewarding.
“In the midst of illness, people are grateful for even the smallest of gestures; the moments that patients remember are so touching. It has been a privilege to be with patients and families at both happy and sad — often end of life — moments.”
Morrow comes from a family of physicians. But becoming a doctor wasn’t a set thing. She was interested in biology and languages (especially French and Italian) and studied both in her undergraduate years at Johns Hopkins University. She decided medicine was a way to combine both interests.
She earned her MD at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. She completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Maryland. She also did her cardiology fellowship at the University of Maryland.
Her work is varied. Morrow sees patients in inpatient and outpatient settings, in the hospital and in the Stern clinic. She says she likes the hospital work to see very sick patients “push through very critical illnesses and hospital courses.” She also likes to see healthier patients in the clinic and track their progress over time.
She also sees a variety of patients from older adolescents to the elderly. She sees pregnant patients, too, and often gets to see the babies after delivery. For all of this, “I love the bonds that we form by all growing old together.”
“Interestingly, I enjoyed the telemedicine/Zoom appointments during Covid,” Morrow says. “I got to meet so many family members and pets on video that I would otherwise have never seen!”
But Morrow says she could not have a successful career without the “solid support team” she has at Stern. They work well together and with the same goal: “great patient care and efficiency.” But, she says, they all get along, which makes the “job infinitely more fun.”
— Toby Sells
When an apple a day doesn’t quite do the trick, a professional medical opinion might be in order. Fortunately, Memphis and the Mid-South contain an abundance of hospitals and clinics that strive to keep everyone in peak condition and stay on the cutting edge of medical research.
Within these hallowed medical halls are women who have dedicated their lives’ work to improving healthcare conditions for their patients, no matter the ailment or stage of life.
Let this year’s list of Exceptional Women in Medicine be your primary resource while seeking a doctor, whether it’s for a stomach ache or a sprained ankle. Every specialist on this list has been chosen by their peers as one of the best in their field. Whether it’s dermatology, pediatric cardiology, nephrology, or allergies, the doctors on the list are ready to help.
ALLERGY & IMMUNOLOGY
Nora Daher
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Daher Asthma and Allergy Clinic
2136 Exeter Road
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 203-6055
Christie F. Michael
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Jennifer S. Morrow
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Stern Cardiovascular
8060 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 271-1000
Maureen A. Smithers
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Sutherland Cardiology Clinic
7460 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 763-0200
Neeraja Yedlapati
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Stern Cardiovascular
8060 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 271-1000
CHILD NEUROLOGY
Tanjala T. Gipson
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Amy L. McGregor
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
848 Adams Avenue, Suite L400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Namrata S. Shah
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
Neurology Clinic
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
DERMATOLOGY
F. Gwen Beard
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
1455 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6655
Luella G. Churchwell
Dermatology East
1335 Cordova Cove
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 753-2794
Robin H. Friedman-Musicante
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
1455 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6655
Frances K. Lawhead
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
1455 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6655
Purvisha J. Patel
Advanced Dermatology & Skin Cancer Associates
7658 Poplar Pike
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 759-2322
Malika Tuli
Mid-South Dermatology
6644 Summer Knoll Circle
Bartlett, TN 38134
(901) 372-4545
DEVELOPMENTAL-BEHAVIORAL PEDIATRICS
Toni M. Whitaker
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY
Sue C. Kaste
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Department of Diagnostic Imaging
262 Danny Thomas Place, Mail Stop 220
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 595-3347
ENDOCRINOLOGY, DIABETES, & METABOLISM
Lisa M. Myers
Endocrinology and Diabetes Specialists
1920 Kirby Parkway, Suite 102
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 334-5464
GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY
Linda M. Smiley
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Memphis, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
HEMATOLOGY
Marquita N. Nelson
Regional One Health
Sickle Cell Center
880 Madison Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 545-8535
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Shirin Mazumder
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Medical Group – Infectious Disease
1325 Eastmoreland Avenue, Suite 370
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 758-7888
INTERNAL MEDICINE
Joan Michelle Allmon
Aim Allmon Internal Medicine
526 Halle Park Drive
Collierville, TN 38017
(901) 910-3246
Martha N. Taylor
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Methodist Medical Group7690
Wolf River Circle
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 756-1231
Natascha S. Thompson
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis
University of Tennessee Medical Center
Baptist Medical Group – Internal Medicine
8040 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 102
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-7900
Catherine R. Womack
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
UT Internal Medicine BMG
8040 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 102
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-7900
MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
Sylvia S. Richey
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Carmel S. Verrier
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
NEUROLOGY
Violiza Inoa Acosta
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Regional One Health
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Semmes Murphey Clinic
6325 Humphreys Boulevard
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 522-7700
Barbara Cape O’Brien
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Collierville
Neurology Clinic
8000 Centerview Parkway, Suite 500
Cordova, TN 38018
(901) 747-1111
OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY
Lanetta Anderson
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Women’s Physicians Group
681 South White Station Road, Suite 111
Memphis, TN 38117
(901) 273-1190
Heather Pearson Chauhan
Exceed Hormone Specialists
7512 Second Street
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 312-7899
Claudette J. Shephard
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Regional One Health Outpatient Center
880 Madison Avenue, Suite 3E01
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 515-3800
OPHTHALMOLOGY
Lauren C. Ditta
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute
930 Madison Avenue, Suite 200
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Mary E. Hoehn
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute
930 Madison Avenue, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Natalie C. Kerr
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute
930 Madison Avenue, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
OTOLARYNGOLOGY
Victoria L. Lim
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Collierville
Shea Clinic
6133 Poplar Pike
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 761-9720
Courtney B. Shires
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY
Karine Guerrier
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, 2nd Floor
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Nithya Swaminathan
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis
Le Bonheur Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, 2nd Floor
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY
Teresa S. Wright
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY
Alicia M. Diaz-Thomas
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Bindiya Bagga
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, 3rd Floor
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
PEDIATRIC NEPHROLOGY
Margaret C. Hastings
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Rima Zahr
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
PEDIATRIC OTOLARYNGOLOGY
Rose Mary Stocks
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, 1st floor
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY
Patricia J. Dubin
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Tonia E. Gardner
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 4
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Catherine D. Sanders
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, 3rd Floor
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
PEDIATRIC RHEUMATOLOGY
Terri H. Finkel
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
50 North Dunlap Street
Cordova, TN 38018
(866) 870-5570
Linda K. Myers
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Rheumatology + Dermatology Associates, P.C.
8143 Walnut Grove Road
Cordova, TN 38018
(901) 7530168
PEDIATRIC UROLOGY
Dana W. Giel
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 100
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
PEDIATRICS
M. Michelle Bowden
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, 3rd Floor
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Emilee Dobish
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Janet D. Geiger
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
River City Pediatrics
6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 610
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 761-1280
Elisha M. McCoy
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Dawn H. Scott
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Consultants
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 310
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 523-2945
Ellen J. Stecker
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
River City Pediatrics
6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 610
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 761-1280
PLASTIC SURGERY
Devra Becker
University of Tennessee Medical Center
University Plastic Surgeons
1068 Cresthaven Road, Suite 500
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 350-4858
Patricia L. Eby
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
Cosmetic Surgery Specialists of Memphis
6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 360
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 752-1412
RADIATION ONCOLOGY
Martha Tibbs
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Department of Radiation Oncology
1265 Union Avenue, Short Tower, 1st Floor
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 478-7367
REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY/INFERTILITY
Amelia Bailey
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Fertility Associates of Memphis
80 Humphreys Center, Suite 307
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 747-2229
SURGERY
Alyssa D. Throckmorton
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Baptist Medical Group
7205 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 200
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-8950
Lindi Hanna Vanderwalde
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Baptist Medical Group
7205 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 200
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-8950
Virginia Weaver
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
UTMP Weight Management and Wellness Center
57 Germantown Court, Suite 204
|Cordova, TN 38018
(901) 758-7840
UROGYNECOLOGY/FEMALE PELVIC MEDICINE & RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
Val Y. Vogt
Methodist University Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
The Conrad Pearson Clinic
1325 Wolf Park Drive, Suite 102
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 252-3400
